When You’re Feeling Better Make Barbecued Beef Pizza

If you don’t have a flu story by now, you’ve been hibernating for too long. Everyone is being hit by this vicious bug. Whole families are sequestered in their houses for weeks at a time. The stories that abound are getting as good as the ones from November’s ice storm.

You’re lucky if you have only the two-day version and not the two- or three-week one. Our family didn’t luck out, unfortunately. We are still battling the longer version, with days of feeling good and days of feeling pretty lousy with high temperatures.

We had an inkling the flu was here while at church early this month. My 13-year-old, who rarely complains, looked pale but didn’t say anything until after the sermon.

“My stomach hurts,” she said, looking at me with sad blue eyes. We scooted out of our pew as fast as we could. When we got home, she went to bed for the day.

Monday morning arrived with three girls sick with the flu. Temperatures bounded up and down, from over 103 degrees to the high 99s. Our new living room sleeper-sofa got broken in.

For days, we hunkered down with rental videos and the instant thermometer. We fixed so much chicken noodle soup that I wished I’d invested in Campbell’s stock.

On good days, my family eats real food, such as this hearty pizza topped with a beef sloppy Joe mixture. On bad days, we give lots of TLC and drink lemonade. Here’s hoping your family is in tip-top shape.

Barbecued Beef Pizza

Adapted from “A Taste Of The Country” (Reiman Publications).

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 ready-to-cook pizza shell

1 (15-1/2-ounce) can sloppy Joe sauce

1/2 cup shredded fat-free Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan over medium heat, brown beef and onion; drain. Add sloppy Joe sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Spread meat mixture over pizza shell; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is brown and cheese is melted.

Yield: 6-8 servings.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

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